Qwest may refile for forbearance in Phoenix, industry and analyst...

wouldn’t be surprised if Qwest refiles for large chunks of Phoenix where the competitive case is the strongest,” said Stifel Nicolaus analyst David Kaut. Qwest faces competition from Cox there. Integra Telecom, a competitive local exchange carrier that opposed Qwest forbearance, is “steel[ing]” itself for a sequel in Phoenix, Russ Merberth, Integra assistant general counsel, said in an interview. Courts and the FCC don’t discourage “slicing and dicing” a petition to refile it for a smaller area, he said. CLECs praised the order, but it creates troubling precedents regarding the FCC’s approach to forbearance cases, Merberth said. The FCC discounted cut- the-cord wireless competition but left the door open to considering it in future cases, he said. The commission rejected wireless substitution only because the record was short on evidence, he said. Integra and other CLECs are pushing the FCC and Congress to change forbearance practices. Qwest is studying the order and weighing options, said a spokesman.